


Beach Day

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-10 14:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19907551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Daine takes his husband to a beach day with friends. Daine belongs to HellishSam and miscellaneous friend characters belong to my friends.





	Beach Day

Of all the places that Daine and Ydris had gone on their honeymoon, they had neglected to visit a beach. It hadn't been intentional, not really, there had just been so much to see that they hadn't done much more than walk along the shoreline holding hands, wedding rings glinting in the sunshine. Daine hadn't wanted to lose his ring in the surf, and Ydris had agreed all too readily. But now, the reason for Ydris' hasty acceptance was becoming more and more clear as Daine stood in the bedroom doorway, looking in shock at his husband who stood near their wardrobe.

"You're what?" Daine asked, unsure whether to laugh at his husband or not. But Ydris already looked ashamed enough, so he just let the shock speak for itself.

"Well, we don't really have any beaches in Pandoria," said Ydris. "We're all floating islands, if you hadn't noticed, and a beach isn't truly a beach if there isn't sand."

"There are rocky beaches," said Daine. Ydris waved his hands.

"You know what I mean," said Ydris. "We don't have traditional beaches, and there isn't really any reason to swim in Pandoria. You've seen what passes for water there, ever since that beast started to cause havoc."

"Fair point," said Daine, nodding. "But you're seriously afraid of water?"

"What little water there is is actually quite acidic and unsafe to swim in, even with scales," said Ydris. "Why do you think I was so terrified the first time it rained?"

"You were terrified?" Daine asked. "It's rained a lot since I've been with you and I've never seen it."

"Right, yes, I got over that fear," said Ydris. "But my point still stands."

"I still want you to come to the beach with me, though," said Daine. "Please? It'll be fun, I promise."

"Well, I suppose that your father did give me those flamingo board shorts as a wedding present," said Ydris. It had been half a joke, but Ydris appreciated the gesture nonetheless.

"Exactly," said Daine, nodding. "And you get to see me half-naked."

"That is a definite plus," said Ydris. "Very well, I shall accompany you to the beach. Just promise not to let your friends laugh at me too much."

"I promise nothing," said Daine as he pulled his board shorts from the dresser and changed into them along with his faded yellow t-shirt. Not that he'd be wearing it for very long, but still. For safety's sake, he took his wedding ring off and added it to the necklace that held his engagement crystal, the two chiming together quite pleasantly and bringing a smile to his face. Ydris did the same, though he used significantly more magic to make a thin golden chain to hold his wedding band. He also wore a purple t-shirt, which Daine raised an eyebrow at.

"Purple is my colour," said Ydris. Daine smiled at him and gave him a kiss before taking his hand.

"Come on, they're waiting for us," said Daine, all but dragging his husband out of the house in his eagerness. He remembered when he would have been almost shy to swim around his friends, first because of the fresh scar on his face from Pandoria and Sabine and then because of the mating mark that still glittered golden in the sunlight and took on a rainbow sheen when he was in areas where the Pandorian magic was strongest. But, after explaining to them what it was (and enduring the ensuing teasing from his friends about them being animals), Daine now felt okay with it. He had so many scars and marks on him now, along with his tattoos, that he looked like a well-worn map, but for once, he was okay with that.

It was Ydris who looked nervous as they stopped Zee and Cloud at the beach, Zee immediately trotting off to investigate something or other while Cloud stayed with the other horses like a good boy. Seeing the two 'troublings', the bay tobiano ponies that Louisa's horse Trouble had somehow given birth to, Daine smirked.

"No wonder you're nervous with those two there," said Daine, pointing them out to his husband. Ydris blanched.

"Perhaps this was a mistake," said Ydris, shaking slightly and keeping close to Daine (which just so happened to be well away from the water). "With those two around, who knows what chaos could occur?"

"As long as their 'mother' isn't here too," said Daine, right as an all-too-familiar bay tobiano gelding rocketed off the top of the diving board to splash into the bathing area below and almost crash into his concerned-looking boyfriend. "Okay, never mind."

"Daine," said Ydris, his eyes huge and scared. Daine had never seen him look so scared before. Instantly, realising how serious Ydris was, Daine stopped teasing him.

"It's okay, drago," said Daine gently, taking Ydris' hands in his own and squeezing them. "You've got me, I won't let you drown or anything. I'll be your sexy lifeguard."

"I hope so," said Ydris. Daine pulled Ydris closer to him, hugging him and rubbing his back. He could feel Ydris' heart pounding against his chest, which was worrying. He'd never expected to be comforting his husband but, well, here they were. And it was hardly the first time, either.

"I promise you that it's going to be okay," said Daine. "The water's salty, though, so try not to open your eyes underwater or get water in your eyes. It won't do any damage, it'll just hurt. And it'll also hurt if you have any open wounds, but that's it."

"Are you sure?" Ydris asked, looking at Daine with such worry that Daine had to kiss his forehead.

"I've been to the beach plenty of times so yeah, I'm sure," said Daine. "You'll have fun once you get used to it."

"I hope so," said Ydris. He took a few deep breaths, trying to compose himself, and took hold of Daine's hand. "Okay, I think I'm okay. Time to join your friends. Please don't tell them that I'm afraid of water."

"I won't," said Daine. They'd probably find out on their own anyway.

The two were almost bowled over by Trouble and Richard galloping past them, but after that minor scare, they joined the rest of the group with no dramas. Viktor was, of course, already in the water, where he'd live if he was able to. He had his head resting on his folded arms atop the little walkway that encircled the swimming area, and gave a click of delight when he saw the two men.

"About time!" Viktor called. "The husbands are here, guys!"

"Finally," said Willow, joining them along with the rest of the group who'd been chatting in the shaded area of the cafe with drinks and food. "I thought you got lost."

"Just had to convince this one that it was okay to join us," said Daine, gesturing with his thumb to Ydris beside him, who clung to his hand a little more tightly now (though it wasn't entirely obvious, thankfully).

"Hey, you're family now, you married into us," said Willow.

"But you're not really a part of us until you've got your hair wet," said Ariana. Her bikini looked scandalous, but Daine knew for a fact that it was the most decent one that she had for hanging out with friends (he'd asked her).

"I can fix that," said Shane. "Ydris, mind if I borrow your husband for a bit?"

"What?" Ydris asked, reluctantly letting go of Daine's hand.

"Ah, fuck," said Daine, and yelped as Shane grabbed him and managed to fling him into the water with a scream that he hoped didn't sound too panicked. An echoing scream came from his husband, though, who ran over with wide eyes.

"Daine!' Ydris cried, so much fear in his voice that Daine felt his heart lurch. Immediately, any amusement died away, and he put up a hand to stop Shane.

"It's okay, you can join him," said Shane, picking up a startled Ydris and throwing him into the water. He landed near Daine, flailing.

"Daniel, help me!" Ydris begged, gazing up at him as he flailed in the water.

"Stop struggling, hey, it's okay, I've got you," said Daine, scooping Ydris up into his arms easily and standing so that Ydris was completely free of the water. Ydris' eyes were huge with fear, and he was trembling in Daine's arms.

"I want to go home," said Ydris, quietly so that only Daine could hear. "I don't like this."

"I mean, if you want to," said Daine, though he let his hurt show. "Maybe we should've said something, then Shane wouldn't have done that."

"Or maybe he would have, or someone would have," said Ydris, his teeth chattering. Daine waded out of the water with him, hoping that being on dry land would help Ydris to calm down.

"No, they wouldn't," said Daine, sitting beside Ydris and wrapping a beach towel around his trembling shoulders. "They're assholes but they're not that kind of asshole. They're not cruel."

"Even after what I did?" Ydris asked, looking at Daine with wide, scared eyes.

"Not knowing how much you mean to me," said Daine. He looked up as he heard footsteps approaching him over the sand, and found a concerned-looking Shane.

"Hey, man, I'm sorry," said Shane as Ydris moved a little closer to Daine, his trembling hand finding Daine's and squeezing it. "I didn't know you were scared of water."

"It's okay, he asked me not to tell you," said Daine. "But hey, I had fun."

"Perhaps I should go home, stop ruining your fun," said Ydris.

"Or we could teach you how to swim or get you used to the water," said Louisa, who'd joined them. "The water here isn't very deep, it really only goes up to your shoulders until you get to the really deep part. And don't worry, there's a net so you don't accidentally drift out to sea. You can stay in whatever part you feel safest in."

"If I haven't made too much of a fool of myself," said Ydris. Daine snorted at a memory.

"The first time I came here after I drowned, I freaked out," said Daine. "Worse than you just did. Don't worry, nobody's going to judge you."

"The great Ydris, scared of a little water," said Ydris.

"We can change that, though," said Daine. "I got used to swimming again. Now, I love it."

"And Daine can heat the water up in a non-gross way using his body," said Roo. "C'mon, you big chicken." Ydris looked down at his feet, then at his flamingo-patterned board shorts.

"Actually," said Ydris, getting to his feet and pulling his shirt off, "I prefer 'flamingo'." Roo laughed at him, not unkindly.

Gradually, Ydris was convinced and encouraged by his friends and husband to first wade into the shallow part of the bathing area, then out a little further until the water lapped at his waist. He hesitated there, though, almost freezing up at the thought of going any deeper.

"I'm sorry," said Ydris, shame flooding him. Warmth alerted him to the presence of Daine, who stood beside him.

"It's okay," said Daine, moving around in front of Ydris and taking his hands. "You can try going out deeper next time."

"Perhaps if I could swim," Ydris muttered.

"I can teach you how to swim," said Daine.

"I'd like that very much," said Ydris. And then he yelped and flew into Daine's arms. "Something touched my foot!" Daine laughed, shooting a glare at Viktor, who gave him a thumbs-up in return from where he swam around their feet. Daine returned another finger gesture in response.

"Swimming lessons where there isn't a stupid merman to grope my husband," said Daine, speaking loud enough for Viktor to hear even underwater. Vik splashed them with his tail, and Ydris yelped but then gave a sheepish look to Daine.

"I'll get used to it," said Ydris.

"Yeah, you will," said Daine, giving him a gentle smile and then pressing his lips gently to his husband's.

And, for the rest of the day, Ydris very much did get used to the water. In fact, he spent most of the day in the water, not even minding when his skin went pruny (he was used to that from the showers that he took with Daine).

Even at the end of the day, after everyone else had left, Ydris still stayed in the water, or at least with his feet dangling in it, sitting in Daine's arms at the end of the little jumping board that a few of the friends had taken turns jumping off earlier that day. Ydris had wanted to try it but had been too scared, and didn't even dare think about the much higher diving board above them. Now, as the sun slowly set, Ydris gazed out at the water, leaning his head against his husband's broad, muscular chest. He felt so safe in Daine's arms.

"I used to go to the beach all the time with my friends," said Daine. "They weren't good friends, though. Not like these guys."

"You should tell me about them," said Ydris, as he always did. "If you want to." He knew enough to know that the lyrics inked onto Daine's chest were more for Cole than anything, but the rest? Daine was still very tight-lipped about his past. Ydris could be patient, though, Daine could tell him in his own time.

"I just want to leave the past in the past, though," said Daine. "We did so much bad shit, I don't want you to think less of me."

"You're talking to the man who wanted to destroy the world, broke your heart, cheated on you, turned your friends into horses, used you," Ydris listed on his fingers.

"Fair point," said Daine with a huff, and kissed the top of Ydris' head. "Later, though. I don't wanna ruin this day."

"At the risk of ruining it, I wish Pandoria had something like this," said Ydris. "It used to, before that beast was imprisoned there."

"The old Pandoria sounds beautiful," said Daine.

"According to the history books, it was," said Ydris. "So much natural beauty, so many people, so many places, gone forever now. All because of one stupid mistake made by our ancestors. Or one of them." Not for the first time, Daine was glad that Ydris couldn't get into Fripp's private chambers. Knowing him, he'd smother the squirrel in his sleep.

"If we saved Anne and turned a bad guy good, I think we can take on Garnok," said Daine. "Get rid of him for good."

"With my help, I think you can," said Ydris.

"Keep talking like that and I'll push you in the water, you cocky bastard," said Daine, even as the words warmed his heart.

"You wouldn't dare," said Ydris.

"Mmmm nah, I'm too comfy," said Daine, dropping his head to Ydris' shoulder. Ydris smiled, relief flooding through him. Daine was his safety net, something that he'd never expected. A weakness and a safety net, all in one. The purring that filled his ears, reverberating through him from Daine's chest pressed so close to his, was almost enough to lull him to sleep. But he had to stay awake. He couldn't risk falling off the little diving board, even if Daine would catch him.


End file.
